LS3 Supercharger Install - Street Thumper!

Supercharging a factory LS3 with a ProCharger D-1SC system

Last month, we installed a ProCharger LSx Serpentine Drive Kit (LSx SDK) with their D-1SC supercharger onto a factory LS3. As promised, we put it to the test at Westech Performance Group’s SuperFlow 902 dyno to see what kind of tire-fryin’ power can be had. Out of the box our naturally aspirated LS3 managed to generate 501 hp. The D-1SC system certainly didn’t disappoint, but we’ll get to the power figures shortly.

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We started with a Chevrolet Performance LS3 crate engine and the Corvette Accessory Drive System (“LS3 Heat,” Aug. ’12 issue). This package comes with mounting brackets, belt, power steering pump, water pump, and alternator. On the downside, since this setup works off a single belt, we ended up removing the belt to avoid burning up the power steering pump by running it dry; this also meant we had to switch over to an electric water pump.

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Because this is a universal kit, ProCharger includes plenty of tubing and it’s up to the end user to cut material accordingly to fit their application. It’s far from daunting and just requires a little bit of effort to sort it out. Once we had our intercooler tubing sorted out for the dyno, we then welded on the ProCharger-supplied surge valve.

When it came to the power adder, our system of choice was ProCharger’s LSx SDK with the optional D-1SC blower upgrade. This all-in-one setup also comes with an air-to-air intercooler, an assortment of 3-inch mild steel tubes, a blow-off valve, silicone tubes, and an ample supply of hose clamps. This particular system is an LS transplant setup and is capable of fitting into a ’66-72 A-body (Chevelle, GTO), ’68-72 Nova, and a ’68-81 F-body (Camaro/Firebird); you just have to cut the tubes to fit your specific application.

Moving onto the juicy details, with nothing more than a healthy ProCharger D-1SC huffer, our factory mill produced 714 hp at 6,500 rpm and 620 lb-ft at 5,600 rpm with pump gas. A couple of pulley swaps later and 100-octane fuel and we further improved those numbers to 768 hp at 6,500 rpm and 667 lb-ft at 5,400 rpm—yeah, no complaints here! The next time you see our boosted LS, we’ll show you what a top end swap with a much more aggressive camshaft will produce. Any guesses?

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Power Figures

Our ProCharger system came with three pulleys (4.75, 4.50, and 4.25 inches) and we started off with the 4.75-inch pulley. With 18 degrees of total timing, the 4.75-inch pulley produced 11 psi of boost on 91-octane pump gas, generating 714 hp at 6,500 rpm and 620 lb-ft at 5,600 rpm. For the next pull, we bumped the timing up to 20 degrees, only to have it drop power across the entire powerband. As Mena put it, “18 degrees is the sweet spot.”

We then swapped over to the 4.5-inch pulley. With the expected increase in power and to lean more toward the cautious side, we changed over from the factory spark plug to a colder set of Champion S63A and added 100-octane fuel. Keeping the timing at 18 degrees, the LS3 then produced 736 hp at 6,500 rpm and 634 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm with 12 psi.

For our final pulls, we stepped up to the 4.25-inch pulley and at this point, it was anyone’s guess for the final numbers. This time, the little pulley made 13.3 psi and turned out a stellar 768 hp at 6,500 rpm and 667 lb-ft of torque at 5,400 rpm. Even more impressive, the D-1SC packing LS3 averaged of 601 hp and 625 lb-ft of torque from 3,500 to 6,500 rpm.

The Goods

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LS3 Supercharger Install - Street Thumper!

Some supercharger systems require a feed and return line for the oiling system. The beauty of the self-contained unit is that you can avoid tapping into the factory oil pan. Instead, all you have to do is pour in the supplied 6-ounce bottle of oil into the D-1SC. As for intervals, ProCharger recommends swapping out to a fresh bottle between every other oil change.

Because this is a universal kit, ProCharger includes plenty of tubing and it’s up to the end user to cut material accordingly to fit their application. It’s far from daunting and just requires a little bit of effort to sort it out. Once we had our intercooler tubing sorted out for the dyno, we then welded on the ProCharger-supplied surge valve.

As much as we want the ProCharger to pump in a copious amount of air, we also need a way to quickly evacuate it after lifting the throttle. Getting the air out quickly is the ProCharger–supplied surge valve. All you need to do is route the rubber tubing from its housing and plug it into the manifold (after the throttle body). Once you lift, the surge valve senses the pressure change and opens up to relieve the pressure from the supercharger to the throttle body.

ProCharger’s three-core air-to-air intercooler can support up to 950 hp. Its purpose is to lower the inlet temperatures, allowing for more timing, improved fuel atomization, and helps to prevent detonation. In other words, these help produce the most efficient horsepower without having to resort to high-octane race fuels in a street car application.

We’ve been pushing EFI quite a bit lately, so we decided to follow our own advice and use the Holley Dominator EFI system. Manning the keys is Westech’s leading EFI guru Ernie Mena.

Changing the supercharge pulley for added boost is incredibly easy. The ProCharger setup has a keyway that allows the pulley to slide off by removing the center bolt and belt. For this round, we swapped out the 4.75-inch pulley to the 4.50-inch pulley, which added 1 psi of boost and an additional 22 hp.

Along with the pulley change, we also swapped out the spark plugs to a colder set of Champion plugs (PN S63A).

Also included in the kit is a ProCharger Air Cleaner Assembly. This reusable filter is a safeguard to help prevent debris from getting into the supercharger.

This overhead shot of the engine on the dyno shows how compact the entire system is; this is important for applications where there isn’t a lot of room.

The D-1SC turned out some amazing power; with 13 psi of boost it averaged 601 hp and 623 lb-ft of torque between 3,500 to 6,500 rpm. CHP

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